There's a whole list of things you can do to get your home ready to sell to give you the best market value and a quicker sale, but this post isn't about that.

Instead, we'd like to discuss two things you need to consider BEFORE you decide to sell your home.

First, and this can be a deal breaker: how do plan to pay for your next home? If you're flush with cash, then just skip this step.

But if you plan to finance, you need to find out if you can actually obtain financing for your next home. The last thing you want to do is have your home on the market, accept a contract and THEN find out you can't purchase another home. Don't expect the buyers to feel sorry for your predicament, they're planning to buy your home, and if you break the contract you might very well find yourself with some legal problems.

So having that preliminary conversation with a mortgage pro is crucial. Can you qualify for as much as you think you can? Or is there an issue with your credit history? Situations like having a spouse (who had the vast majority of the couple's credit history) pass away might seriously impact the options for the survivor.

The type of loan is important too. Only qualified for an FHA loan and want a condo? That loan requirement has often restricted where buyers can purchase.

Secondly, is housing available that you'd want? It's important to be calibrated to what your dollar gets you. If you've got a $200,000 budget and $400,000 home taste, we're going to have a problem.

Or is there even anything available to buy at all? For instance, there might only be a dozen condos for sale in Mason across all price points. Now if you want a specific subdivision, you might find yourself with one opportunity every 2-3 months.

And if part of your financing contingency is your current home has to be sold to buy, we have a bit more of a tightrope to walk finding a seller in a hot market willing to accept that contingency.

Now you're going into the process with eyes wide open. You know what you need to do to buy, so if you still want to sell, NOW let's talk about getting your home ready!

Want to discuss further, just call us at 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com.